


I'm No One's Messenger

by writewithurheart



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, It sounds weird but it actually works, Shrek-inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-09-30 18:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10169228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writewithurheart/pseuds/writewithurheart
Summary: Captain Cassian's mission is simple: Rescue a "Princess" from her "Tower." Needless to say he's unimpressed with the codenames Draven attaches to the mission briefing, but he's even less impressed when a certain Jyn Erso isn't nearly the damsel in distress he was led to believe. It turns out, with her help, they might just be able to deal a lethal blow to the Empire after all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, lovely readers! Thank you so much for giving this fic a chance! So, I was rewatching Shrek recently and my ever-so-helpful friend heard "I'm no one's messenger boy. I'm a delivery boy." "You wouldn't dare." and turned to me going: "THAT's your next prompt. And then the ideas just kept coming. I mean, Fiona beating up Robin and his men? Totally a Jyn thing! And it just kept growing, so here's part one. I hope you like it!

**Chapter 1**

 

“Do you want to know the odds of success?”

Cassian glares sideways at K2SO, pulling his gaze from the binoculars trained on the entrance to the Imperial base known as “The Tower”.  He can’t say he’s thrilled about this mission from Draven: rescue the target known as The Princess, who will apparently be in the “highest room in the tallest tower”. If you ask Cassian, it sounds like a load of drivel, although Draven was uncharacteristically amused when delivering the information.

Apparently, they only have a small bubble to pull her out, while Darth Vader was reportedly off Mustafar. Cassian sighs. He’s putting in a request next time: no lava. He can deal with heat, but lava just smells terrible. He’d pick Jedha or Tatooine over this any day. Not that his request will mean anything.

“Kay,” he mutters, eyes narrowing on the patrolling guards.

“They’re low,” Kay supplies in a droll tone, answering his own statistic question.

Cassian ignores the droid. He’s not entirely sure where in K2SO’s programming the cheeky retorts come from, but despite how irksome it can be, Cassian hasn’t tried to fix the bug yet. He keeps thinking he’s going to do it the next time he gets back to base. It hasn’t happened it yet.

“We have no choice. We’re running out of time. Looks like we’re going in the front door.” Cassian shoves his binoculars into his satchel. He adjusts his mask, pulling it up to cover his face as he starts down the hill. “The guards will be back around in ten minutes. There shouldn’t be many Stormtroopers inside. Vader’s not a fan of them, but be prepared. Remember, act like an Imperial droid if they catch us.”

“But I am an Imperial droid. Your directive is nonsensical.”

Cassian snorts. “I meant a regular Imperial droid, not a reprogrammed one. Now come on.”

The bridge that connects their mountain perch to the tower is by far the trickiest part of this operation. It’s completely out in the open. If any Imperials catch sight of them, they’ll be sitting ducks. Only Vader’s paranoia when it comes to Imperial troops makes this possible. The guards in red are few and far between. Somewhere on the grounds, there’s got to be an Imperial presence. It’s not a huge worry though.

They slip through the large doors without incident, and into a nearby supply room. It turns out the plans they got were actually pretty spot on, surprising considering Vader’s mystery.

Cassian pulls a guard’s uniform on over his clothes. “Kay, find our target. I’ll gather what intelligence I can, run interference for the troopers stationed here.”

“Affirmative.” Kay struts away, and right into a cadre of Stormtroopers.

“Halt! Droid, state your purpose!”

Cassian drops back into the shadows of a nearby staircase. Well, there goes that plan. Then again, nothing ever goes according to Plan A. Kay can handle himself long enough for Cassian to grab Jyn Erso and run. If Draven’s to be believed, these stairs should lead the way.

There are a lot of kriffing stairs. Cassian would give just about anything for an elevator after seventeen flights and countless stumbles over the dragging ends of the red robes. He’d ditch them if they weren’t his only protection. He continues moving, pace slowing as his legs ache. The flights of stairs start to blend together around the twentieth, and Cassian has to press a hand against the wall for support. And here he thought he was in decent shape.

To his surprise – and suspiciously good luck – the staircase, when it finally does end, culminates in a bright red door. Unfortunately, two troopers stand before the door. Cassian falls back around the curve of the wall before they catch sight of him. He leans against the wall to catch his breath. These helmets weren’t good for breathing in. He should probably have brought something to get him through the door, but there’s no way he’s going back down those stairs after walking all the way up.

He straightens and resumes his climb.

“Halt!” The guards straighten when they take note of him.

Cassian continues to walk as though he expects to be obeyed. Confidence is key in these infiltrations. He spent two years in Imperial Cadet Academy. He knows how they think, how they are trained to listen to regard the temple keepers with a healthy dose of apprehension and respect. “I am here to see the girl.”

If he’s wrong, the ruse is over. If he has the wrong door…He can handle two troopers on his own.

“We have orders that she’s to have no contact until Lord Vader returns.” 

Blasted troopers and their orders. Well, it was worth a try. The giant staff the guardians seem to prefer is too long to be handled in close combat in an enclosed staircase, but Cassian’s hand is already on his blaster, pointed through the fabric of his cloak at the troopers. Two shots and they fall.

There’s nowhere to hide the bodies except within the room.

Cassian kicks a trooper’s boot out of the way as he reaches for the controls.

The room inside is nothing like he expects. He expects a cell, barren except for the bare necessities, certainly not a bedroom, and a nice one at that. The furnishings of rich fabric, the large bed, a desk, and holopads. The room looks lived in.

His eyes zero in on the figure on the bed, wrapped in blankets.

That must be her.

He leans the staff against the wall and approaches. He throws back the blanket to reveal a slim, slip of a woman with brown hair haloed out around her head. She looks far too young to be blockaded in a room, but Cassian figures there has to be something special about her for so many people to want her.

Cassian sighs. There’s nothing for it. He needs to wake her.

As soon as he grabs her shoulders, he realizes his mistake. It turns out she’s not as asleep as she appears. In a deft move, she flips them, rolling them on the bed so she straddles him, a blade pressed against his neck. Green eyes flash angrily over him, narrowed in suspicion.

“Who are you?” Her voice is a low growl and Cassian would be lying if he said it didn’t provoke an almost visceral reaction in him.

“Jyn Erso?”

“I’m the one asking the questions now,” she responds, blade pressing into his skin. “Who are you? You’re not one of Vader’s guards. They wouldn’t dare come in here.” She rips the helmet from his head and blinks in surprise that she covers almost instantly.

She’s very good, Cassian notes warily. “I was curious-“

“Don’t even think about lying. I could gut you here and now.” She moves her blade to his sternum.

She would to. He sees nothing but truth in her countenance.

He moves with purpose, rolling them again as he rips the blade from her hand and presses his blaster to her side. “Jyn Erso, you’re being rescued.”

There’s fire in her. It shines out through her eyes as she glares up at him. “You’re really going to get me out of here?”

“And we need to move, now.” Who knows how long Kay can keep the Imperials occupied. They’re probably already out of time. His new programming doesn’t allow for much camouflage.

“Are you with the Alliance?”

Cassian nods as he stands, holding out a hand. “And my partner has probably already overstayed his welcome.”

Her hand grabs his and he’s dragging her out the door. She reaches back to grab something. He dimly registers it as a small bag of her own that had been sitting by the door. The stairs are much faster on the way down. About halfway, Cassian ditches the robe, tossing it behind him with malice. Good riddance.

Jyn blinks at him. “Huh, under that sheet, you’re not half bad to look at.”

“ _ Vamanos,  _ Jyn Erso,” he says, pulling her along.

She stumbles after him and when they reach the main floor she heads straight for the main door. “Cross the bridge if you can,” he orders, pulling his comm unit from his pocket. “Kay, can you hear me?”

“I appear to have run into a problem,” Kay static-y voice responds.

“Do you need an extraction?”

He glances at Jyn Erso, standing beside the door. Her foot taps impatiently on the stone floor as she glances around anxiously. She’s a flight risk if there ever was one.

“You should leave without me. I am doomed.”

Cassian rolls his eyes. If Kay has even an ounce of sass, he can’t be in that much danger. “Can you get to the entrance.”

“I will be there momentarily,” he declares.

“The longer we are here, the more likely it is that the guards will find us. Are we leaving or not?”

Cassian checks his blaster at his hip and the various weapons on his person. “We’re waiting for one more.”

The two perimeter guards round the corner. Before Cassian can lift his gun, Jyn Erso has already taken them out with a baton he hadn’t realized was in her possession until she used it. She spins it an extra time for good measure as she turns to face him.

“No offense, but did you even have any plan to break in here? Droid!”

The baton is airborne before Cassian can check to see if it’s Kay behind him as he realizes he didn’t warn her that his partner will look like an Imperial droid. A vague oversight, but then, he didn’t think she would be this bent toward combat. Luckily, the baton hits the power module of a maintenance droid rather than the larger unit beside it.

“About damn time. That overgrown bucket of bolts was going to follow me all the way back to the ship.” Kay knocks the droid over.

“That’s-“

“Jyn Erso, meet K-2SO, my partner.” Cassian rubs the back of his head and moves toward the door. Really, they’re going to get pinned down if they stay here any longer. Someone will notice the two guards Jyn took out and they don’t have time to be delayed. The window of opportunity is closing and if Vader returns, they’re screwed.

“Your partner’s an  _ Imperial droid _ ?”

“You didn’t tell her I was a droid?”

Cassian gestures to the land bridge and the thrice damned lava. “We can discuss this on the ship, just MOVE!”

Jyn opens her mouth to argue as an alarm starts to blare somewhere in the building and Kay’s blaise ‘oh dear,’ propels them into action.

As a general rule, Cassian doesn’t like to run. He prefers to be so good at his job that he can sneak in and out without being apprehended. In fact, he takes great pride in that ability. For this mission, he knew it was highly unlikely that would happen. It doesn’t mean he cherishes shooting behind him as they race toward the ship.

“How did they knew we were here?” He grumbles. They can’t have found the guards upstairs yet, right?

“They’re acolytes of the Force!” Jyn shouts. “How do you think?”

Cassian reigns in his response about the Force being useless sentiment as they stumble out the door. Jyn skids to a stop, turning to slam the door closed behind them. As she shoves the stick through the handle of the doors, Cassian shoots out the control panel and grabs her again. He’s lost track of the time, but he already knows the perimeter guards will be coming around soon.

She keeps pace with him as they across the land bridge. Kay is just ahead, his long legs carrying him further with less effort. Cassian’s muscles burn with each step, still not recovered from the hike up the tower. Jyn Erso seems to be doing much better, but even she is lagging and they run up the hill surrounding the lake of lava. By the time they reach the peak and skid down the other side, Cassian can barely stand on his own feet. There haven’t been more alarms, but it’s a matter of time.

“Come on.” Cassian pulls on Jyn Erso’s arm, gesturing to the small shuttle Kay is already booting up. “We have to go.”

“Wait. Where is he?”

Cassian frowns. Did the run fry his brain or something? “He?”

“Where is my father?” she enunciates, as if he’s stupid.

“Your father?” He’s heard the name before: Galen Erso, scientist and engineer extraordinaire. Rumor has it he tried to leave the Empire and was recaptured. He’s sure that has something to do with this rescue of Jyn Erso, but he doesn’t have that information.

“Yes, my father. Where is he?”

“How would I know that?  _ Why _ would I know that?” He glances back at the fortress and back at the ship. They can’t continue to waste time.

“I’m not going anywhere without my father.” In a move that shocks even his seasoned reactions, Jyn Erso drops onto a boulder and scowls at him, arms crossed over her chest.

Dumbfounded. That’s the only word to describe how Cassian feels. He just rescued her from an Imperial stronghold, stole her from a tower and walked out unscathed, and she wants  _ to stay here _ ? “I don’t have your father. Just orders to get you out of here.”

“Well, too bad, because I’m not going anywhere without my father. Do you know what they’ll do to him if they think he had anything to do with my escape? So you can go rescue my father and then come back to rescue me. Got it, Rebel Boy?”

“I don’t think so.” There’s no way they could do this twice, even if he were so inclined. Personally, he wouldn’t mind leaving her here right now. If it didn’t go directly against his orders…

“I’m not leaving here until I see my father, so you can tell whoever sent you that.”  

“Hey!” Cassian shouts, his anger finally getting better of him. He’s exhausted, just risked his life to save her, and now she’s being a brat. It’s not like the Alliance makes a habit of rescuing the daughters of known Imperial scientists. It’s safe to say she’s unique, and he’s not about to indulge her in this. “I’m no one’s messenger. It’s my job to deliver you to the Alliance by whatever means necessary.”

Her eyes narrow. “You wouldn’t dare!”

He’s a spy. Of course, he dares. She doesn’t see it coming, doesn’t recognize the dart hidden in his hand until it’s pierced her skin. The effect is instantaneous: She collapses. Cassian stoops to catch her before she hits the ground, grimacing at the strain on his already overworked muscles. With some effort, he crouches to slip an arm under her knees so he can carry her to the ship.

“Get us out of here, Kay,” he calls, laying her out on the bench in the back and securing her with one belt.

He sits beside Kay as the shuttle leaves the ground.

“You incapacitated her,” the droid observes. “Is that standard practice for transporting rescued prisoners?”

Cassian closes his eyes in lieu of rolling them. “No. Standard practice is to keep them conscious unless they prove to be a danger to themselves or us.”

“And is she? A danger to us or herself?”

“Neither. She refused to come with us, and there was no time to argue.”

“I see.”

Cassian’s almost afraid to ask what exactly Kay sees. The droid has the woeful inability to understand completely. Undoubtedly, he’ll willfully misunderstand this conversation too. He glances back at Jyn sleeping on the bench. She looks peaceful now, relaxed in a way she hasn’t been since he found her. He can’t help but wonder, now more than ever: what does Draven want from Jyn Erso?

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

She wakes up angry. 

Angry and terse seems to be her default - not much that can qualify as happy happens when you’re locked in a tower - but this is different. Her head feels cloudy and thick, as if her thoughts were molasses. It’s a drugged sleep. 

It comes back to her a moment later. 

The Alliance. Rebel Boy. A droid. A rescue mission. 

That little RAT! He drugged her! He knocked her unconscious and kidnapped her. 

Jyn moves decisively, swinging her legs over the side of the bunk she finds herself on. She stands with only a slight warble. She grabs the wall to steady herself as the world tilts. Two deep breaths - in through the nose, out through the mouth, repeat - and she realizes it’s not just her muddled head, but the room really is shaking. 

She scowls. It’s been a while, but she does recognize space travel. And by the looks of it, they’re experiencing some problems. 

Jyn grabs the crystal necklace at her throat and centers herself. She can feel them, just barely with her limited understanding of the Force: two figures in the cockpit and a ship hard on their tail. They’re not in hyperspace then. 

Weaponless and on unfamiliar ground, Jyn sneaks from the room Rebel Boy locked her in. She glances along the small hallway for a makeshift weapon to use, a stick, a blaster, really anything. She’s a fighter, she always has been. All she needs is a chance and she knows she can get out of here. 

_ Trust the Force, Stardust. Just like your mother taught you. Don’t let them see the light in your heart, safeguard it.  _

It hadn’t been easy,  not once she’d been identified as Force-sensitive. Krennic had tried to keep her with him, as a tool to ensure Galen’s co-operation, but once Darth Vader had stepped in, he really didn’t have a choice. She’d been taken in, her skills evaluated. 

Day after day they’d picked at her, little tendrils of darkness seeping underneath her skin, tickling at her. She was young, too young to really know what she was doing. Her anger had come bubbling to the surface with every invasion of her privacy and they had reveled in it. 

As soon as she knew that, she’d used it to her advantage. Simple really: just  become a ball of anger around the Emperor and his lackey. Amazingly, it had worked. She had grown up under the thumb of the most evil beings in the Galaxy, played the part of their minion, and miraculously lived to tell about it. 

And now the jig was up. Once they realized she was gone, they’d know she was a traitor. There would have been no way she was captured otherwise. They’d trained her too well. They would kill Galen to punish her for her betrayal. That was why she told Draven to save him first, but the idiot hadn’t listened, too preoccupied with his own agenda. 

So she had to escape and go back, to protect her father. 

He was all she had. 

She moves down the hall on silent feet. Rebel Boy and his robot were out of their league, with her and the Empire. It could be them in pursuit now, but the Force isn’t agitated and dark, swirling at their rear where the shots are coming from. 

The ship rocks as a hit lands and throws Jyn into the cockpit. She wastes no time in snatching Rebel Boy’s dagger from his belt as she staggers, lifting it instantly to hold it against his neck. 

“Ah, you’re awake,” he observes in that lyric accent that, infuriatingly calm if you ask Jyn. He should be more aware of the danger he’s in, in her opinion. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” The droid asks. 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Jyn glares at the bucket of bolts. 

“Well, since it has escaped your notice,” the droid continues, “we are fighting off pirates. Seeing as we rescued you, your assistance would be most appreciated.” 

Jyn huffs. “Rescued me? I believe I told you to leave me behind until you had my father in custody. So, if you would be so kind to return me to the Tower.” 

Rebel Boy snorts. 

The droid makes a disbelieving sound which, if he was human, Jyn would call a scoff. “The probability of that is spectacularly low. We have orders to bring you to the headquarters of the Rebel Alliance.” 

“That was not the agreement!” Jyn presses the blade further into Rebel Boy’s skin. 

“And I told you: those were not my orders.” 

She rolls her eyes. “I really don’t care, and you obviously do not realize how important it is that my father be taken alive. They’ve finished the weapon. We need him for the plans.” 

Rebel Boy stills in his seat. So he’s heard of it then. That’s good. Maybe he’ll take this seriously now. 

“I hate to break up this moment.” Jyn glares at the droid. “But the hostiles have managed to disable our navigation systems and are attempting to board.” 

Rebel Boy glances around with his eyes. “Get out of here, Kay. An Imperial droid will make them jumpy. And you, Jyn Erso, how good are you at lying?” 

She glares at him, unimpressed. She’s a spy for the Alliance who lived at the heart of the Empire without being caught. Does he always ask stupid questions? 

“Just tell me the cover story, Rebel Boy.” She pockets his dagger instead of placing it back in his hand. 

He looks her over. “We’re travelling to Fest, to visit my family.” 

Fest. That would make sense regarding his accent. “Married?” 

The only evidence that her question startles him is the way his eyes dart back to her, otherwise he’s as cool as the planet he comes from. “Engaged. Jeron Pagona. I have credentials for you.” 

He reaches for a pile, but Jyn speaks before he can hand the papers over. “Lianna Hallik.” He glances at the ID in his hand and back at her in surprise. Jyn shrugs, not caring to explain that it’s her identity, one she gave Draven to use to contact her. She knows the identity like it’s another part of her. “Hand over a blaster.”

Jeron - which definitely is not his real name - scowls. “No.” 

“Lianna Hallik is a smuggler. She wouldn’t be without a weapon.” 

He doesn’t look pleased with her point, but pulls a blaster from his bag and hands over her baton. “If anything happens to me, Kay will destroy this ship.” 

She rolls her eyes. “Aye aye, Captain. Now let’s go face these kriffing morons.” He seems reluctant to follow her down the hall to the loading bay where their captors are preparing to board. 

“I’m not sure an act of aggression is the best course of action.”

With a roll of her eyes, Jyn shoves her blaster into her holster, but leaves it unbuckled for easy access. “We’ll try this your way, Rebel Boy, but in my experience brigands like this shoot first. They’re not likely to fall for your silvertongue.” 

His jaw clenches and Jyn smothers her smile at getting under his skin. He must be good at what he does, Draven wouldn’t have sent him otherwise, and he did manage to infiltrate a base in the heart of the Empire. Or maybe he’s just lucky. 

The door hisses open and a crew moves in, blasters drawn. “Hands up! Put them up or we shoot!” 

Jyn crosses her arms where she leans against the wall, watching Jeron expectantly. 

He steps forward, arms raised. “Hello, friends. We mean you no harm. There’s no need for all these guns.” 

“Then you won’t mind if we relieve you of yours?” The man who asks divests Jeron of his blaster with a smirk. The whole crew has their faces covered with cloth, their clothes a collection of what they could find, a look Jyn’s familiar with. Smugglers, if she had to guess, smugglers desperate for work so they resorted to piracy. 

One of the men moves toward her and she cocks an eyebrow. “Take another step and you’re dead.” 

The man pauses, eyes scanning her skeptically. She might be slight, but Jyn knows she holds herself like a soldier. She even pushes out with the Force a little bit, allowing the energy to mirror the strength of her body in a way these men will understand. 

He looks over his shoulder and Jyn follows his gaze to the man in charge. She can’t see his features either, covered as they are with a ridiculous hat. “What do you want?” 

“Why we are just concerned citizens,” the man announces, sweeping his ridiculous cloak behind him as he bows to her. “We witnessed your plight, most beautiful lady, at the hands of this scoundrel and have come to your rescue.” 

Rebel Boy rolls his eyes and glances at her, amusement  in his eyes. 

Jyn purses her lips. She’s not a damsel in need of rescuing. Not to mention she’s sure she’s been out longer. “I’ve had enough rescuing for a lifetime.” 

The man’s teeth glint as he grins, a combination of white, yellow, and metal. “The Empire has offered quite the reward for your return and the capture of your kidnappers.” 

Jyn freezes, feeling the truth in his words within the Force. The Emperor is searching for her, which means he probably already knows of her betrayal. There’s now a timer on her father’s life. She scowls. They don’t have time to deal with these pirates. 

“Where’s the droid? The K2 unit?” The question is directed at Jeron who holds his hands higher and allows panic to seep into his features. 

“D-d-droid? What droid? What is going on? I haven’t done anything to harm the Empire, I swear.” 

He’s a good liar. Jyn knows the truth and she still finds him compelling. 

The pirate spits at him. “Drop the act, rebel scum.” He glances at his men. “Grab the girl and search the ship.” 

She hates when people underestimate her. 

A single stun shot and they might have successfully gotten their hands on her. But for whatever reason, the last thing they expect her to be is a trained soldier, so the bantha fodder closes in on her without disarming or even threatening her with Rebel Boy’s life. 

As soon as they’re in range, she moves. 

She kicks aside their guns as she pulls her baton free and follows through. The first man falls to the ground the whole room bursts into chaos. None of their invaders can get a shot in due to the closed quarters of the fight, giving Jyn the advantage.  

None of the lackeys prove to be much of a challenge at hand to hand combat, hardly any better than the bumbling storm troopers of the Empire. She takes them down one by one with swift blows to the neck, head, knee, gut. All non-lethal blows, until the only people left standing are her and the pirates’ captain. 

She brushes her hair back from where it’s fallen into her face to see the Captain and Rebel Boy staring at her in varying degrees of shock. The pirate looks sucker punched, the turn of events he hadn’t considered when they came after their ship. Rebel Boy looks pleasantly surprised, a smirk in the upturn of his lips that almost looks like he predicted this would happen. 

His eyes ask her if she really needed to cause such a scene, but she just shrugs. She’s trained to take out her enemy swiftly, not to be subtle about it. 

She raises an eyebrow, glancing at the Captain still holding a blaster loosely on Rebel Boy. Doesn’t he have an opponent to take out. 

Jeron sighs in exasperation, like he really doesn’t want to do this, doesn’t want to resort to violence. She would almost believe him, except he moves just as fast as she does to disarm the man and force him to the ground at the end of his own gun. 

The movement isn’t as graceful as she would be. It’s utilitarian, a maneuver borne of necessity, not meticulous training for hours on end until it becomes instinct. He knows how to handle the blaster though. She doesn’t see him flip the blaster from kill to stun before he shoots the pirate and then another crew member that starts to wake before he tosses the gun away and turns to her. 

“The Empire is after you.” 

“Well, I was kidnapped,” she snaps. “So what do we do now, Rebel Boy?” 

“Cassian,” he says, nudging at one of the pirates with the toe of his boot. “Captain Cassian Andor of the Rebel Alliance.” 

She tilts her head as he stares into her eyes, being probably the most honest he’s been since they met. He doesn’t seem like much at first glance, but based on his grace under pressure, he’s not just any soldier. 

The moment drags on, just the two of them staring at each other until the bucket of bolts known as a droid with a personality rounds the corner. 

“Oh, good. We’ve reached the destruction part of the evening.” 

Cassian breaks eye contact then to stare at the droid. “What is it, Kay?” 

“I intercepted a deep space message. This ship is compromised.” The droid looks at the disabled pirates. “Why do I always miss the fun?” 

“We should take their ship,” Jyn says, stepping over a body. “We’ll have a better chance of making it to your rendez vous alive.” 

Cassian nods. “My thoughts exactly. Kay, grab whatever’s essential. Jyn and I will clear the other ship.” 

Jyn pulls out her blaster as she bobs an affirmative to the order.

“Ahem.” 

She turns to Cassian looking pointedly at her blaster, hand outstretched. “Of the two of us, only one has knocked the other unconscious and kidnapped them. I think I should hold on to my own blaster.” 

Cassian sighs. “I have orders to bring you back to Draven in one piece. Time was of the essence. I didn’t have time to stop and debate. Besides, you trusted me enough to follow me out of that tower.” 

Somewhere, deep down, she does trust him, at least she could. Everything she’s seen tells her he’s a professional liar, a spy. He’s a chameleon. She shouldn’t have any trust in anything he says, but that’s just it. She can recognize a kindred soul when she sees one. 

“Trust goes both ways.” 

He blinks in surprise. There’s a drawn out moment where she thinks he might just snatch the blaster from her hand, but instead he straightens and joins her at the entrance to the foreign ship. 

“Take the left. I’ll go right.” 

And that is that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Let me know what you think below and thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! Any comments, kudos, bookmarks, etc. are greatly appreciated. And if you want feel so inclined, you can also find me on tumblr [here](http://writewithurheart.tumblr.com/)


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